In present TV color camera systems, setup adjustments are located in many different places. Some of the setup ajustments are in the camera head, some are located in the base equipment, when used, and some are remoted to the base equipment from the camera head to allow monitoring facilities to make the adjustment. Most of the setup adjustments are located usually in the camera head or when base equipment is used, in the base equipment. The number of setup adjustments is approximately 100. These setup adjustments are usually made via potentiometers which are tightly packed together and involve concentric controls. This tight packing of the controls adds to the size and weight of the base equipment and the camera and further complicates the adjustments. For small cameras, it is convenient to move the camera to the monitoring facilities for the purpose of making adjustments. In the larger cameras, some of the adjustments have to be remoted to the base equipment where the monitoring facilities are available. The remoting of the controls typically includes separate conductors through a cable to each of the potentiometers. This in itself can cause instability. The labor involved in setting up the camera is considerable and therefore it is also desirable to find a more suitable means for performing the setup adjustments.
The final TV color signal output is only optimized when the total camera chain is meticulously and correctly set up. This setup or alignment includes: (1) actuation of switches to preset appropriate conditions in a particular circuit to permit alignment; (2) actuation of switches to present the necessary display on the picture monitor, waveform monitor and vectorscope monitor for each particular setup; (3) adjustment of analog controls--greater than 100 in total for a modern color camera; and (4) adherence to a rigorous procedure for these adjustments. Practical experience with many forms of color TV cameras has shown that any inadvertent omission or deliberate circumvention of any of these steps can have a deleterious effect on the final picture quality achieved.
Since there are many adjustments to be made during the useful life of the equipment and these adjustments are time consuming and require judgment by the operator, it is highly desirable to provide a system for making these adjustments automatically.